That was not easy.

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Jason

Just did the last of the week 3 runs.  Each one has gotten harder.  Unexpected.  I’m not sure if it has to do with starting the Power 90 thing after the first run, or a build-up of fatigue on my knees and shins, or a diet thing (I’ve been eating 1000-1500 calories a day, which is way lower than I should be.  And probably not enough fat, too.  Also, I don’t eat in the mornings nearly as much as I should, so it could be a fuel problem).  But my legs felt like lead today.  Pace was down, distance overall (of course) was similarly down.  Cramping a bit more than usual, too.

I’m not sure if I should do a week 3 run 4, or move on to week 4.

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Weekend Update

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Jason

It is Monday morning, 8:24am, and I have taken a weekend off.  Eon left early on Friday to help her cousin Paloma get married, so I was flying solo.  Saturday I took the kids to a friend’s birthday party, then we got home and watched the first half of Richard Donner’s Superman movie — which the kids absolutely loved.   Then I dropped the kids off at grandma’s house, and joined Eon for the evening wedding, and a night at the hotel.

Now, I had intended (and packed clothes and shoes) to run around the hotel the next morning, before the family brunch.  But the good times rolled, and time didn’t add up.  Ah, well.  Two days off.  Absolutely no exercise.

There was a sundried tomato linguine for dinner, which was really good.  And while I resisted cake at the morning kid birthday, I did have a small slice at the wedding.  First outright sweets in several weeks.  I’m not sure if it tasted good or obscenely fattening.  Probably both?

Anyway, it is now 8:31am, it’s about 60F outside, so the time to run is nigh.

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Couch to 5k, week 3 run 2

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Jason

Back (about 2.5 weeks ago, lo, in ancient times) when I started C25k, that’s all I was doing.  And it was not too easy at first; I really started from, if not the couch, then the office chair.  Earlier this week, I started doing pushups and situps, just a few.  This was unstructured, so I bought and began the Power 90 training videos, mainly to get strength training on my non-C25k days.  Right?  Right.

Today was my first run after yesterday, the fist (weak, very partial) P90 workout.  And dear god: sore.  I must really have overdone it yesterday.

Week 3, run 1 average pace: 9:09/km, and peak pace 6:45.  (Yeah, it’s terrible, but it meets the “you can kindof speak while doing it” criterion that’s advised in the C25k program, so I’m just doing that for now.)

Compare with today’s avg pace: 10:12/km, and peak pace of 7:30 — which is about where I was in week 1.  From the first steps of the warmup walk,  I knew I was sore and should probably not do too much.  I had multiple thoughts of cutting it down to a half-run (just 15 minutes), my legs and core ached so much from the strength exercises.  Honestly, that might have been the best choice, but compromise is a hard thing to let in.

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1 down, 59 to go

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Jason

From wiggly to out in 20 hours.

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Life is Unfair, Part 1

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Jason

Not sure if I’ve mentioned it yet, but it’s an outrage that bagels are like 50g of carbs.

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Today’s check

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Jason

Weight a smidgen lighter.  2.32% weight loss since a week ago.

This post mentions lots of brands and stuff.  If that chaps your hide, skip.

This morning, I did my first Power 90 (not the “X” version, crikey!) workout.  I mentally knew to take it easy, but I still sampled too much from each of the exercises.  Sooooore.  Anyway, the grand plan is coming together: exercise every day.  Run some days, do strength exercises others.  The P90 thing is in fact an every day program, too, and toggles between strength days and cardio.  I’m not 100% sure if I can both run and do the cardio program on my running days, or how to make that work.   But the most important thing is populating my non-running days with a regime that exercises other stuff.

My shipment of veggie jerkies arrived!  We’re going to do a taste-off at work.  So far, I like Stonewall’s Jerquee, teriyaki flavor, the best.

Food today went ok.  Still high on carbs, low on fat, low on calories.   Bob’s Red Mill’s stone cut oats, boiled for 20 minutes, is heavenly.  Also, I’m not a peanut butter person, but the Bee’s Knees stuff is great.

Salad, ripe strawberries, eggs for dinner.  Meal tasted fabulous.

Tomorrow: week 3, run 2.  Feels like forever since I last ran.  Looking forward to it, sortof?

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Body check, one day later

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Jason

Those pushups and situps?  I’m way sore.  Mainly in the arms and shoulders.  Didn’t bother me too much in the running.

Also, after tracking my diet carefully for several days, it’s obvious that calories aren’t my problem.  Fat isn’t my problem.  Carbs are.  When I became a vegetarian (way back in 1992 or so), carbs replaced meat in my diet, and there they’ve remained.  It’s hard at this particular moment in the narrative not to wax poetic about bread, so I’ll stop short and simply say that cutting carbs way down, to the suggested amounts for my weight goals, where a bagel is a third of the daily recommendation, is going to be a serious challenge.

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The key is simplicity

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Jason

What I love most about the Couch to 5k program, and the idea of running overall, is the absurdly low overhead.  Get dressed.  [Grab iPod, if I want to.  Put on Garmin, if I want to.]   And go.

That’s it.  All the planning and logistics are done.  Everything I need is on my feet and in my ears.  That little voice in my head that likes to scratch things off my calendar and reclaim time is having a hard time getting purchase.   Simplicity is the key.

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Some of these should be real

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Jason

This is awesome.

Lost States

Lost States, a book of true stories

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Signs of the times: how many cameras do you really have?

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Jason

Seemed like a good list to make in a few spare moments.  Here’s mine.

  • 4 in entertainment devices
  • 3 smartphones
  • 3 built-in to computers
  • 2 portable digital cameras
  • 2 digital SLRs
  • 2 camcorders (one film, one digital)
  • 1 old film camera

So that’s 17 photosensitive lens-bearing devices that I can think of right now.  And I think I may be missing a couple, cleverly embedded in random things.  Sheesh.

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